Tracing the Cause Backwards

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading (chapter 15), that we have not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

In the Epstein book, I found tracing the cause backwards to be the most interesting concept because it helped me understand that a line has to be drawn in tracing the cause.

Example: The soccer ball hit my nose, and now it is bleeding. The cause is the soccer ball hitting my nose and the effect is that my nose is bleeding.

We could come up with more causes such as that the girl on the other team headed the soccer ball at my face and now it is bleeding. So really it was the girl who headed the ball at my face that caused my nose to bleed. Or we could say that it was the girl who kicked the ball to the girl who headed the ball, which caused it to hit my nose and make it bleeds’, fault.  

We could go on and on with the possibilities, so having the just one cause makes the process of identifying the cause so much easier. “We stop because as we trace the cause back further it becomes too hard to fill in the normal conditions” (Epstein).

Mission Critical Website

2). What was useful about the Mission Critical website?

The mission Critical Website was helpful because it listed many of the concepts that we have previously learned in the Epstein book, and provided me with more definitions and examples to understand those concepts.  Sometimes just reading the Epstein book isn’t enough to learn the concepts, and so this site is helpful in that it gives other ways of phrasing those definitions to make them easier to understand.  This site was also helpful for me in learning the different concepts, particularly causal arguments because they give us exercises to do. These exercises are extremely helpful because unlike the book, when you select the wrong answers, it will tell you why. Being able to know why your answer is incorrect helps you to not make that same mistake in the future. This to me is the best feature of this website, and I will definitely use it when I’m studying for the tests in this class to make sure I understand the concepts to the best of my ability. 

Cause and Effect

1). What was useful about the Cause and Effect website reading and exercises?

I found that the Cause and Effect website reading and exercises were very helpful in understanding the material in Chapter 15.  When I first read Chapter 15, I was kind of overwhelmed by all the examples and sections that we had to read, but once I read the site and did some of the exercises on the website, I had a lot of “ohhh” moments, when I started understanding the material better, and it really helped clear up some of the questions I had. I especially liked the link on post hoc reasoning! In the book it says that there are two mistakes in evaluating cause and effect: reversing cause and effect and looking too hard for a cause. Post hoc reasoning falls under looking too hard for a cause, and the definition was, after this, therefore because of this. I found the kind of confusing but once I read the website, I understood it so much better! Post hoc reasoning means that just because A precedes B, that doesn’t mean that A caused B. In other words, we have to look at all the possibilities before we can identify if A really cause B. Lastly, the website and exercises really helped me understand that in casual arguments, there is only one significant difference or significant commodity. What this means is that there is only one cause to the effect. We could go back and find other causes and differences, but that would be too difficult. So we try to find in the casual argument, if there is a strong likelihood of the causation, by identifying one significant commodity or difference. :)

Analogies in the Law

3). Pick one concept or idea from the assigned reading, that we have not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

For my topic of choice, I chose to select Analogies in the law.  When I first started reading this section I was nervous that I wasn’t going to understand it or want to understand it because anything involving laws and government isn’t something that necessarily interests me.  However, I felt with that reason in mind, I should really try to make myself pay attention. By doing so, I was able to discover that Analogies in the law are analyzed arguments “with important similarities pointed out and a general principle stated” (Epstein).  What this means is that in the courtroom, judges will use analogies to solve a case.  They take existing laws, and will find their similarities and differences in order to call for justice in the courtroom. Sometimes by doing so, they will be able to make new laws or overthrow old ones.

For example:

Sometimes there are courtroom cases that by law should be enacted. Let’s say that dancing in the streets has been against the law after 11 pm for ten years now because dancing leads to unwanted pregnancies for teenagers. A girl has been brought to the judge because she was caught dancing after eleven.  The judge has seen that in the past only one or two teenage girls have gotten pregnant in that town, but he doesn’t believe it was ever a result from dancing after hours. He then tries to look at past cases and “tweak” the general principles in that law, by drawing on the similarities and differences to make new ones, “but doesn’t include the one’s he is deciding” (Epstein).  By doing so, he can make new general principles in the law, or in this case, overthrow an old one.

Confusion Gone

2). Sometimes when something is difficult to understand, it becomes a bit clearer when we try to explain it to someone else.  Which type of reasoning was most difficult to understand?  Please do some additional Internet research on that specific type of reasoning and discuss what you learned.

The type of reasoning that was the most difficult for me to understand at first, out of all the other types of reasoning, was casual reasoning. I had trouble with it at first because the first link that we were provided left me kind of confused. I understood what it meant when it said, casual reasoning occurs when we have good reason to believe something when there is a cause and effect that are related, but I didn’t get what it meant when it said, “…it may become possible for us to alter our environment by producing (or by preventing) the occurrence of certain kinds of events. This statement went right over my head when I was trying to understand the concept, so I further researched what causal reasoning was. I soon learned by reading other sites, that this final statement meant that everything has a cause and effect. When we know what the effects of certain causes are, we can either make things happen or prevent them from happening in our world from our reason.

For example:

·      I forgot to put my shirt in the closet and now it is wrinkled.

By not putting my shirt away in the closet, I caused my shirt to become wrinkled, which is the effect. I could prevent this from occurring in the future by casual reasoning, or I could make it happen again, even though I know the effect of the cause. 

Reasoning

1). Read through the different types of reasoning posted to the instructors blog.  Give an example of each type of reasoning outlined on the instructor’s blog.  The example should be something the folks in class can relate to, so try to use real world examples.

1.    Reasoning by Analogy:  We reason by analogy, when we make a statement that compares the relationship between two or more similar things. Normally when we make the comparison, we assume that because A is like B, they must be similar; however, that is not always the case, and so it is usually helpful to provide evidence when determining whether or not these things are actually similar or different when reasoning by an analogy.

For example: Is a Milky Way more like a 3 Musketeers Bar or a Snickers Bar?

                     Milky Way         vs.           Musketeer’s Bar   vs.    Snickers Bar

Candy                            Yes                                    Yes                                   Yes

Chocolate                     Yes                                    Yes                                   Yes

Fluffy Texture               Yes                                    Yes                                  No

  
Crunchy                          No                                    No                                    Yes

Peanuts                           No                                    No                                    Yes


Carmel                            Yes                                    No                                    Yes

         ____________________________________________________________

In the table above, I made a comparison of three similar candy bars with the hopes of reasoning by analogy.  I compared three very similar candy bars, of which many may already know the difference, to discover which candy bar is the most similar to a Milky Way. In my findings, Milky Ways were most similar to a three Musketeers bar because they had 5 similar things in common compared to a Snickers bar, in which they only had 3 similar things in common. In result, a Milky Way is most similar to Musketeers than a Snickers bar.

2.    Sign Reasoning: Sign reasoning can occur anytime we assume something has occurred because we’ve seen it happen before or it’s common knowledge (like we know that that after the sun rises it will set). Sign reasoning also can occur when we believe that something must be true because we’ve seen it with our own eyes. It’s kind of like cause and effect reasoning. For example:  If I am wearing earnings from Tiffany. & Co. A very expensive jewelry store with a Juicy Couture Jacket, people may assume that since I am wearing these items, I must be rich, since celebrities have worn these types brands. They are reasoning based off their knowledge from seeing other rich people wearing these items.  However, I might not actually be rich because these items may have been gifts from friends or relatives.

3.    Casual Reasoning: Causal reasoning can occur when we try to make sense of certain events that have happened.  We consciously try to find the cause of the effect of an event.

For Example: A lot of times when I am sleeping in my bed at home, I hear noises in the middle of the night, like my dorm being hit open. It scares at first, but then I think of reasons for the cause of the noise, such as that it might have been my cat that hit my bedroom door open, and that was what caused the effect of the loud noise from my door.

4.    Reasoning by Criteria:  Occurs when we come up with a list of criteria that will later be judged to determine a final decision.

For example: The criteria for applying as an exec officer position for the senior class are: grade in school, grade point average, and experience in government a class. Many students will apply for the position, but the one that fits all the criteria will become the exec officer, and the final decision will be made.

5.    Reasoning by Example: This occurs when we use examples in our arguments to persuade others. This type of reasoning can be very effective since examples are based off of real life scenarios.

For Example: I usually get straight A’s, but I took a philosophy class from Dr. Philosopher, and failed miserably. I suggest you don’t take his class.

6.    Inductive:  Inductive reasoning can occur when we make generalizations on things based on our past experiences and observation. However, in this type of reasoning, just because the premises may be true, that doesn’t mean that the conclusion will be too, there is just a possible chance that the conclusion is true.

For example:

·      My mom has gotten up at 6 in the morning every day as long as I can remember. (Premise: true)

·      Tomorrow, she will wake up at 6am. (Conclusion: there is a possible that this is true, but the premise doesn’t guarantee its truth-value).

7.    Deductive:  Deductive reasoning occurs when there is no possible way from the premise to be true and the conclusion false at the same time.

Example:

·      All students at SJSU have to take 60 units before they can take upper division courses. (Premise)

·      I am a student at SJSU. (Premise)

·      So I will have to take 60 units before I can take upper division courses. (Conclusion)

Appeal to Vanity

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading this week, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

In chapter 10, I learned a lot about the different types of appeals to emotion; however, I found that the one that interested me the most was the appeal to vanity.  The appeal to vanity occurs when we try to convince people to believe or do something because we’ve made them feel good about themselves. This normally occurs when we try to sway the person to believe our argument because we’ve given them some sort of compliment. I think that this appeal to emotion stood out to me the most because when I was in high school I would use the appeal to vanity on numerous occasions when I wanted to hangout with my boyfriend on school nights. I knew that my mom wasn’t really kin on the idea of letting me hangout with my boyfriend on school nights, but I would come up with an argument to flatter her into letting me invite him over.

For example: I would start out my argument by saying that I was doing very well in all my classes and I finished all my homework for that night. Afterwards I would listen to my mom talk and compliment her on her accomplishments for the day or maybe the outfit that she was wearing. Meanwhile, I had the thought in the back of my mind that if she liked what I was telling her, she’d cut me a break and let me hangout with my boyfriend. It worked every time. I was appealing to vanity by setting up the argument that I was a good student and because I was doing well in school, I should be allowed to hangout with my boyfriend. By adding compliments into the mix, I made her feel good about herself, which put her in a happier mood and ultimately swayed her into letting me hangout with my boyfriend on a school night.  I still use this type of appeal to vanity with her today, and she never suspects it haha. 

Appeal to Fear

2). Pertaining to page 195, complete objective 1, 2, 3, 6 OR 7.

3. Find an advertisement that uses an appeal to fear. Is it a good argument?

The advertisement above promotes the anti-smoking campaign that smoking kills. Most people are afraid of death, and so by placing the individual’s hand in the shape of a gun, while holding a cigarette with a shadow of a gun in the background, an appeal to emotion is created: the appeal to fear. The appeal to fear is a tool that both advertisers and politicians use to manipulate people into believing that they should do or believe something based on fear. The unstated conclusion in this case based on fear would be that, smoking cigarettes is like killing yourself with a gun. In addition to the statistic that is presented in the advertisement, the overall image creates a sense of fear to those who are thinking of smoking or who are smokers. I believe that this is a good argument because it is not “substituting one legitimate concern for all others, concluding our minds to alternatives” (Epstein).  This advertisement is promoting that smoking is deadly and can be like holding a gun in your hand and provides the added statistic that about 106, 00 people in the UK die each year due to smoking making this advertisement not just based on fear, but on reality. If this advertisement just simply had the picture of the individual and the gun, then it would have been “concluding our minds to alternatives.” However, since it didn’t, this advertisement, which is based on appeal to fear, gives us good reason to believe why smoking is something that should be feared and is something we shouldn’t do.